President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of July 4 with a delegation of parliamentarians from Canada. In addition to expressing hope that Canada will support Taiwan's bid to join the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the president also called for continued strengthening of bilateral interaction and cooperative relations.
In remarks, President Ma first expressed his concern for the disastrous flooding in southern Alberta Province this June, specially noting the severity of the situation in Calgary. The president stated that four years ago Taiwan experienced a similar disaster, and therefore he was all the more distressed by the loss of lives and property. President Ma said that Canada's federal, provincial, and city governments, along with a wide range of private organizations, all joined hands in dedicating themselves to disaster relief and the settlement of displaced persons, which has been very impressive. He also expressed admiration for the leadership ability displayed by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
President Ma pointed out that substantive relations between Taiwan and Canada continue to advance. In each of the past two years, he said, bilateral trade has exceeded C$6 billion. In 2012, he noted, Taiwan was Canada's fourth largest trading partner in Asia and 14th largest in the world. Furthermore, people-to-people ties also continue to progress, he said, specifically mentioning the signing of the Taiwan-Canada Memorandum of Understanding on Youth Mobility (i.e. a working holiday agreement) in April 2010, and Canada's move in November of the same year to provide visa-free courtesies to visitors from Taiwan. The president mentioned that the number of ROC nationals visiting Canada the following year jumped significantly as a result.
President Ma recalled that Canada's minister of foreign affairs immediately sent messages of congratulations to him after the presidential elections in 2008 and 2012. In addition to recognizing Taiwan's democratic achievements, the messages also praised the warming in relations between Taiwan and mainland China. Prime Minister Harper, he said, specially dispatched congratulatory delegations to Taiwan to attend the inauguration proceedings. These actions constituted substantive shows of support for the advancement of democracy, freedom, and the rule of law in Taiwan, and also highlighted that the two nations share these common core values, the president remarked.
Noting that the ICAO in September of this year will hold its triennial Assembly in Montreal, President Ma explained to his visitors that Taiwan has been seeking to join the organization. He pointed out that the Taipei Flight Information Region provides air traffic control services to some 1.3 million flights passing through Taiwan's air space each year. Unfortunately, however, Taiwan is unable to receive up-to-the-minute information from the ICAO, which is why Taiwan strongly hopes to join the organization.
Turning to economic and trade topics, President Ma stated that during the ninth annual Canada-Taiwan Economic Consultations, the two sides discussed an agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and a foreign investment promotion and protection agreement. The president said that both of these pacts would be significantly beneficial to the two sides, and that he hopes the visitors will support them. President Ma also stressed that the government here is working to create the conditions that will enable Taiwan to join the TPP. At present, he said, Taiwan is negotiating with New Zealand and Singapore on economic cooperation agreements that are expected to be concluded soon. The president also expressed hope that Taiwan can follow Canada's path in joining the TPP.
The delegation included Canadian Senators Grant Mitchell, Jean-Guy Dagenais, and Victor Oh, as well as Members of Parliament Garry Breitkreuz, Philip Toone, and Jasbir Sandhu. The group was led by Member of Parliament John Duncan, and was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Canadian Trade Office in Taipei Executive Director Kathleen Mackay to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting were Secretary-General to the President Timothy Chin-Tien Yang (楊進添), National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General John C. C. Deng (鄧振中), and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ting Joseph Shih (石定).